Today we had the chance to do some serious sightseeing in Hong Kong. First, a large group of us took several subway lines to get to the Tram above the city. Then we rode about 30 minutes on the tram. This gave us a view of how Hong Kong is many small islands.
Once we got to the top, it was the funny combination of tourist mall and monetary. It featured one of the world’s largest sitting Buddhas at 85 feet tall on top of a hill. This was stunning. Jenny and Holley decided to use the opportunity of being in front of these beautiful sculptures to do a little acro-yoga.
We wandered around, having had a delightful lunch in a Japanese restaurant.
Then we went to a truly lovely monastery, the Po Lin Monastery. I bought our group some incense and we all had the chance to light incense for our prayers.
It was so peaceful there. Then we were invited into the lovely grounds inside the temple. A high quality recording of chanting played which just filled the room with sounds equally as beautiful as the art. “Besides as the must-go destination for prayers, Po Lin Monastery is also a top destination for tourists to experience the natural and cultural side of Hong Kong.
The Monastery was initially a small temple constructed by three buddhists in 1924. Over the years, more structures have been added, such as the big temple) and the world's largest Big Buddha.”
After this lovely time above the city, we caught a bus to go to the small fishing town of Tai O. Here is a description:
“This little place is sometimes called the "Venice of Hong Kong," though it is just a little village with many houses built on stilts over water. People get to their houses by walkways or by boats. Unlike Venice, few people would travel far to visit it.. But a lot of Hong Kong urban residents make a short trip to visit it for an excursion and a break from the norm. People go there as part of a hike on Lantau Island and can eat there cheaply, or they take motorboats. Dolphins are seen in the area, and tourists ride out in motorboats hoping to see them. It is unusual to see Hong Kong people living in houses on stilts.”
We took a quick boat ride, which included being able to see many of these houses on stilts and a very quick glimpse of the endangered pink dolphins. Then we shopped in the market. It is amazing that such a tiny village is so close to the mega city of Hong Kong.
Going back by bus and ferry, we hit a spectacular lightening storm, which was really stunning as we drove along, a long with a heavy rain. (Of course, I didn’t bring my umbrella, again!)
For dinner, we wandered around a VERY fancy mall looking for a moderately priced place. This mall could have been in downtown Dallas or Los Angeles. VERY nice and VERY pricey.
We finally settled on going to a Subway sandwich place, where we all truly enjoyed eating subways just the way we do at home.
By this time I was getting pretty sick, coughing like crazy. Several of us decided it was time to head back to the hotel, while others stuck around for the night market. It was a really nice day around Hong Kong.
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